We have all made mistakes; so we all need a Messiah; we have all sinned,
so we all need salvation. Satan is out to deceive and destroy everyone
who will allow him, therefore, we need to follow God’s plan of
salvation—which began Matthew 1:21“And she shall bring forth a son, and
thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their
sins.”

The devil corrupts anything
and everything possible, and he constantly tries to divert our attention
from spiritual concerns to secular matters. Only true and active faith
in the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus can save anyone. God wants
everyone to repent and be saved, but Satan wants everyone to sin and be
lost. It is a serious battle for the soul every day.

We should continually thank
and praise God for the gift of His Spirit—who inspires faith in us to trust
God every day. Salvation has come in the flesh, to deliver us from
judgment that will be unleased on a wicked world. We need not despair
because 1 John 4:4“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them:
because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

The devil’s
darkness cannot
overpower the Savior’s light that He brought into our world.
John
12:46“I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me
should not abide in darkness.” We can know of God’s salvation plan,
but after knowing it, we must
live it every day. Our attention, our
thoughts, and our faith must be focused on the Atonement Blood of Christ
concerning every issue—He alone is able to give salvation to those who truly
believe.

The season is supposed to be about loving
others, showing good will toward people, and thanking God for the greatest
Gift ever. 1 John 4:8“God is love. 9 In
this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his
only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his
Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

This
season represents good will; Christ-like attitudes; giving of gifts; and a
general good feeling toward everyone. Statistics say that crime lowers
drastically on that one day. Could not this love, concern, and
consideration for others continue after the holiday and all through the
year—is the question. But the answer is
1 John 5:19“The whole world
lieth in wickedness.”

We must be on guard and not allow the evil one to distract us from living
God’s Truth every day; to not allow Satan to have us be resentful about
anything toward
anyone.
Ephesians 4:32“Be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
We must guard against being discontented because God has already richly
blessed us.

The reason for the season is to recall what Jesus came to say; to love
each other, as He loves us. Consideration for the feelings of others
must always come first, and the accumulating of things a distant
second.
1 John 5:2“By this we know that we love the children of
God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For
this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments
are not grievous.”

During this season, many read through the first chapters of Matthew and
Luke to recall the gospel accounts of the birth of Christ. It is good
reading any time and any season, because there is always something new and
important to learn from reading any Scripture.

Joseph’s response to the news
of Mary’s condition is a reminder of how we should always consider the
feelings of others. As an act of kindness and consideration, Joseph
just wanted to do the right thing, and not bring shame or embarrassment to
anyone. He would not be able to proceed with the marriage, because he
was not the father of the Child.

He was grieved at the thought of Mary’s humiliation, although it was
common at that time to heap shame on anyone who was known to be unfaithful
in marriage. Joseph’s concern was not for himself, however, but for
the feelings of Mary. Matthew 1:19“Joseph her husband, being a just
man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her
away secretly.” All too many today show no concern, love, or
consideration toward their spouse or fiancé. If people would respond
with the same divine love and concern as Joseph did, many more marital
problems would be solved rather than dissolved.

Joseph did not know what had taken place, but he still did not want Mary
to be humiliated. Her feelings and reputation was his concern, so he
decided to just back out of the relationship. The Lord then intervenes
in a vision and says Matthew 1:20“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to
bring home your wife Mary, for she is with child through the Holy Spirit.”

The announcement verifies both the virgin birth and that Jesus is from
the royal line of King David. The deity of Christ as God in nature and
human form, had to be clearly stated in the gospel accounts, because it is
vitally important, and there can be no misunderstanding God’s salvation
plan. This one-time payment for the sins of the world, through a
perfect blood sacrifice, would not be possible if
God had not become
man.

The Good News of the Gospel is, that Jesus was both human and divine, so
the sacrifice was accepted by God as a perfect
sacrifice. Knowing of
the deity of Christ and fully understanding that He was God by nature, is
essential to our salvation. Now we understand the importance of Jesus’
words to the Pharisees John 8:24“I said therefore unto you, that ye shall
die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your
sins.”

Jesus had only one human parent, Mary, so He could sympathize with
humans. Jesus, as God the Messiah,
Hebrews 4:15“was in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” The Divine Trinity consists
of three Persons acting as
One Person to offer us salvation through faith in
the second Person.

The Jews of that day would not be surprised to hear about an announcement
of the Messiah’s birth. They knew the Scriptures
Micah 5:2“But you,
Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet
out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose
goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”

They would be familiar with Genesis 3:15“I will put enmity between you
and the woman, and between your offspring and hers.” The Lord and the
serpent would constantly wage a spiritual war against each other. It
is the light of God’s truth
vs the darkness
of Satan’s lie.

The birth of Christ was the fulfillment of prophecy;
Isaiah 7:14“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel; God with us”Matthew 1:23. The Son of God would be
born of a virgin; would
live on
earth; and then die on a cross to offer salvation to all who would
believe Him and
trust Him in faith every day for everything.

The significance of the unique birth of Christ at Bethlehem, is told in
the vision God gave to Joseph. Matthew 1:24“Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as
the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and
did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called
His name Jesus.”

Joseph
was, no doubt, glad to understand what the Lord told him in the vision.
Now he could go ahead with plans to take Mary as his wife, and that he could
rejoice because of having the honor and privilege of raising God’s Son.
Matthew makes it clear that Mary remained a virgin until after Jesus was
born. Later, however, some asked Mark 6:3“Is not this the carpenter,
the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joseph, and of Juda, and Simon?
And are not his sisters here with us?” Mary needed a Savior like
everyone else; Luke 1:46 And said:
“My soul magnifies the Lord.”

Although many do not believe a virgin birth as possible, it just reveals
the widespread unbelief in the world, and how much power Satan has over
people—convincing them to accept a lie and reject the truth.

The divinity of Christ, His virgin birth, and His sinless life on earth
are of absolute vital importance; because Romans 3:12“All have turned away,
they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even
one.”Romans 3:23“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
Since Jesus was perfect as God, only He could offer a perfect sacrifice for
sin.

Luke’s detailed genealogy of Christ affirms the credentials of our Lord;
who was Luke 3:38“The son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the
son of God.” When Adam deliberately sinned, by disobeying God’s Word,
every descendant of his has been stained by that sin.

Jesus, however, came into the world as the kind of man Adam
once was.
Jesus, like Adam before he sinned, was sinless, having a perfect image of
the Father, and obeying His will in everything. God said
Luke 3:22“Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.”

While He was here on earth, Jesus was like His followers—He was tempted,
persecuted, hated, and rejected—He was both fully God and fully human.
God’s promise to Abraham was based on one person.
Galatians 3:16“He
saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which
is Christ.”

The family tree of Christ consists of far more than a list of Hebrew
names—it is a testimony to God’s love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness.
Jesus was born to be a friend of sinners; Luke 5:32“I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Regardless of our
sin, Jesus
invites us in to His family of believers. We just need to accept His
offer of forgiveness, and then begin a new life of faith in Him by the power
of the Holy Spirit.

The supernatural birth of the Lord Jesus at Bethlehem is a necessary
component in our understanding of His deity as our Savior. The divine
plan, conception, birth, ministry, and perfect sacrifice of Atonement has
never before, nor since, been offered. Hail the heaven-born
Prince of Peace! Hail the Son of Righteousness! Light and life to all He
brings; Risen with healing in His wings.